"We are determined to make every possible effort to facilitate the opening of a new page in the history of Afghanistan," Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said, opening the second Moscow meeting on Afghanistan.

The exercise focused on counter terrorism training of the Special Operation Forces of Pakistan and Ground Forces of Russian Federation while exchanging mutual counter terrorism experiences, an Army statement cited by Xinhua news agency said.

The Russian rocket carries US astronaut Nick Hague and Russian cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin. The two astronauts are making an emergency landing after a Russian booster rocket carrying them into orbit to the International Space Station has failed after launch.

During the talks here, Russia and India also reaffirmed their commitment to their special and privileged strategic partnership and asserted that this relationship was an important factor for global peace and stability.